Improvement in railway-car trucks



D. H. DOTTERER. 5

Rw 6 m l.. 2 2 o `u Y A d e ..l n .mw a DI |K. C U r T r a C Inventor:

Witnesses:

AM, PHorq-u'rno. so, Nnr. f nssonN-s's Fausses UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.N i. Il

IMPROVEMENT IN RAILWAY-CAR TRUCKS.

`Specification forming partof Letters Patent No. 49,510, dated August 22, 1865.

To all whom it may' concern.-

Be it known that I, Davis H. DOTTERER, of the city and county of Philadelphia, State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and use- 'ful Improvement in the Construction of RailroadCars; and I do hereby declare that the followingis a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making a part ot' this specifica-V tion, in whichi i Figure l, Sheetl, is a longitudinal section through one-half of a car-body, taken in a vertical plane through its center. Fig. 2, Sheet 1, is a section through Fig. l, taken through its front end, as indicated by the bourse of red line w x. Fig. 3, Sheet l, is an elevation of..

one end of my improved car-body. Fig. 4,

Sheet l, is a vertical transverse section through the car-body, as indicated by red line yy, Fig. 2. Fig. 5, Sheet 2, shows the manner of connecting two sections of a car-body together, and also the manner of 'constructing'the sides.

. Fig. 6 shows the connecting-links which are used for connecting together the two sections of a car-body. Fig. 7 shows a mode of stiftening the sills of my car-body. Fig. 8 shows the connecting-links of Figs. .5 and 6.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several figures of both sheets.

rJhis invention relates toanew and improved mode of building railroad-car bodies, whereby I obtain great strength and durability, cornbined with lightness and portability.

One object of my invention is to construct the sides and ends of a car-body of successive l layers or strips of wood of any required width and thickness, cemented and bolted together in such manner that the full strength of the material is preserved and the usual mode of framing by means of mortises and tenons obviated, as will be hereinafter described.

Another object of my invention is to stiften and strengthen the sides and ends of my carbody by the employment of tubes, through which the clamping-bolts are passed, said tubes and bolts being inclosed within the sides of the body and recessed into the sills and capping portions, as will be hereinafter described.

Another object of my invention 1s to construct a railroad-car body of two or more sections, which are put together in such manner that should one end or section become injured it can be readily detached from the other end or section and a perfect section substituted in its stead, thus repairingan injured carin a comparatively short space ot' time, as willbe hereinafter described.

To enable others skilled in the artto make and use my invention, I will describe its construction and operation.

In the accompanying drawings. Arepresents the sill of the car-body, B the capping or pieces which form the base of the roof, and C the vertical sides of the body, the Whole being firmly held together by wrought-iron bolts and tubes, as shown in Figs. 2, 4, and 5. The tubes a a are inserted through holes which are made through the narrow strips b b of which the main portion of the body is constructed, and through said tubes rods or bolts c cc are passed, receiving nuts d d on their ends, by means of which the strips b b, as well as the pieces `A and B, areiirmly clamped together. The tubes a a are intended to t tightly in the wood, and to penetrate a short distance into the sill and capping-pieces, as shown in Fig. 5, Sheet 2.

The sides and ends C between the sills and capping are composed of successive layers or strips of wood sawed to the required width for the thickness ofthe sides G, and firmly secured together in one solid mass by water-proof glue and pins, nails, or screws previously to or simultaneousiy with the tightening up of the nuts on the ends of the rods c c.

The divisions G between the window-openings may be formed of one or more pieces of plank ofA the required thickness, and secured rigidly in their places by the bolts and tubes which passthrough them, as representedin Fig. 5.

'lfhe car-body is so constructed as to sepa rate in the middle at F, thus forming two secing drawn out of their places by any amount of strain to which the car-body may be subjected. The ends of these links project from the ends ot' the sections of car-body and overlap each other, receiving through these lapped ends the coupling-bolts G, as shown in Figs. 5, 6, and S. A great number of these links e may be used and inserted, as above stated, between every layer b, or between every other layer, as may be found desirable.

The sills A of the sections of a car-body are also made to separate, as shown in Fig. 7 and, if desirable, the cast-iron anges g g may be used for stifi'ening the sills at their joints, in which case they may besecured to their respective sections by the bolts c c and secured together by the short bolts i t', receiving nuts on their ends, as shown. A contrivance somewhat similar to the castfiron anges g g may be applied on top ofthe capping-rails B B, for stift'ening these portions at their junction and preventing a separation of the sections near the roof of the car-body.

The rafters K K, platforms H, cross-braces, and iioorings are constructed and applied to my improved car-body in the usual manner. Provision should be made, however, for admitting of a separation of the sections of the body at their points of junction in fitting up and furnishing the body.

The tubes a a may be made of the common gas-tubing, cut of the proper length to enter the sills and capping, as above stated, and of suicient diameter to receive the bolts c c i loosely through them and to give lateral strength to the sides and ends of thecar-body.

The object I have in so constructing the carn repaired by substituting a new section for the damaged one; and then, again, by making the car-body in detachable sections, as above described, I have great facility in the stowage and transportation of the sections either by land or water. v

The sheet-metal covering p (shown in Figs. 3 and 4 applied to the outside surfaces of the sides and ends ofthe car-body) is intended to protect the wood from the action of the weather.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. A car-body which is composed of successive horizontal layers or strips of wood secured one upon the other by means of cement and metal clamping-rods c c, substantially as described.

2. The use of tubes a a, in combination with the clamping-rods ccand a car-body, constructed substantially as described.

3. Constructing a car-body of two or more sections, put together in such manner that they can be separated at pleasure, substantially as described.

4. The method of applying the links c e to the ends of the sections of a car-body, substantially as described.

- D. H. DOTTERER. Witnesses:

F. B. MERRILL, GHAs. H. SWEET. 

